Smell of an old letter.....really nostalgic!
Can you remember that past time, when we used to wait impatient for some one's postal letter? Through letters, not only some piece of information is passed, but also lots and lots of love, emotions, happiness, sorrows, fun and many feelings are conveyed that can't be expressed through words and tears. In this article, I am trying to bring back some of those beautiful moments, which we never hope to return back to life. Let us all remember at least for a few moments, those unerased colours of that faded rainbow.
My dear friend,
Received your letter. How much times have I read it! Really remembered those wonderful college days. I feel as if we were talking in that corridor along with Deepa and Vishnu. I could feel as if you have opened your chatter box as usual. Last week, I went to town along with my mother. When my bus just passed our hostel, I could hear our voice echoing in my ears. Many beautiful moments just passed through my mind - that wonderful night when we bathed in rain from the terrace, those beautiful evenings when our gang have a chat in the hostel canteen, our anthakshari at the time of power cut which made hostel warden angry etc etc.....Will those days come back? Result will come next month. I may get married. Parents are seriously thinking about it. I want to tell you many things. Do you remember.............
While searching for an old book or magazine in a shelf, you may get such a letter. Letters and words may have faded a little. That small piece of paper may have lost its beauty. Yet, it will be enough for you to bring your old college days and some of your memories back to life. Isn't it? Sometimes, that letter may never reach your eyes even after years and its alphabets may fade completely. How many such letters have we lost carelessly! Even then they never fade from one's memory. A time when love, friendship, joy, sorrows, agonies were expressed and exchanged through letters is still young in many people's heart than before. How many times have we read those lines repeatedly? How many memories have passed our minds? While reading those lines once again after years, it seems as if we are entering another birth of our life. That much far letters have gone away from us.
When people became too busy and new technologies like e-mail, chatting and mobile phones come into exist, everyone including me have forgotten letters. Actually when these things reduced the distance between people, the warmth of letters lost its charm. It is really a mere transformation according to the passage of time. But, an era or century was there, where letters form the inevitable part of each one's life. Really, an old letter in our hand can make us remember many lost things including lost relationships and faded young age or even early childhood.
Future generations may think, what an inconvenient thing was that letter of early times, where they have to buy an inland or cover, write it in paper, go to post office, fix stamp and post it. Again, it takes 2-3 days to reach the other person's hand. Then it may take one week or more to get its reply. Now, we are getting everything in just one mouse click at our door step. Not even needed to buy a postal card. Actually this thought has come into existence in the mind of every person now itself. Isn't it? Easy availability of many things has caused its loss of charm. Letter is just one among them. It is even applicable to many home appliances and kitchen accessories too. Isn't it?
Do you still remember those days when you eagerly wait for the cycle bell of postman? He may be bringing you some love, care, exam result or even an interview card. "Never forget to go to temple on Sunday. It's your birthday. Though I can't reach, my blessings will always be with you" - love and care passed by a father to his son, who is fighting at the border for his country. Isn't it really nice? These letters are just signatures of emotions and tears of those loved ones who are staying far or a secret box between two friends or a lovelypiece of romance wrapped in a piece of paper. How many times have you waited at your door step for a letter that has not delivered yet? Didn't it bring you tears and despair very often? Some persons remember it as a beautiful spring while others may have tears to flow as rain, when they remember about such messages. Yet, they were important in everyone's life.
Hand writing of love
Now, letters has been added to our nostalgic things. When we lost our habit of writing, we have lost many of its emotions also. Our habit of opening our mind, romantic tenderness, flood of friendship thoughts, many promises given for a life time, we have lost all of them. I never feel that the intensity of emotions that we feel while opening a letter will be available while receiving an sms or opening our e-mail box. When we are inking our pen to write a letter, what we fill along with it in our mind is the intensity of our love and emotions. Also, the time spend for pouring words from heart are really amazing. Actually, many of our hidden feelings including 'agony and anger', 'happiness and bitterness' and 'small mischief and complaints' are poured through ink from our mind to paper, thus filling our mind with only pleasure and feeling of lightness. When we are beginning with words like dear father, dear mother etc, they are really standing near us in our feelings and we are talking to them.
Very often, from illegible hand writing of the address itself, we identifies the person and the emotion with which he wrote it. Even if his hand writing is not good, we just forget about it while opening the letter. Actually, we are reading his mind through his words written in illegible way. All those things have now added to past!
Letters filled with life
Social life letters, gulf or any foreign country letters etc were the written autobiography of the persons of the past. Also, makes us remember the atmosphere of that ancient period. Even if father is working abroad, he gives his suggestions about the family through letters. Even a single word was given that much importance and discussions were often done in families earlier. At that time, family members were large. So, arrival of a letter was often treated as a celebration. Soldiers at borders used to carry letters from home, as symbols of pride and show it to everybody. Those ignorant wives used to search an educated person to read the letters of their husbands. Now both - illiterate ladies and letter readers have disappeared from our society.
Also, if a person is staying away from his home town, he used to describe his work place, new friends and about that social life in his letters. Thus, letters often act as a piece of encyclopedia of early times. Now, Wikipedia and search engines have taken those positions. If we are able to read letters of past, we often get a clear picture of the social life, years before, which may not be available in present search engines.
Let us remember some replies of mothers and grandmothers of the past. "Received your letter and money order. Bought your father's medicine. Yet, the amount that you are sending now is not enough. Everyone here is happy and hoping you are also the same". Now those money orders also are replaced by cheques, debit cards and money transferring. Isn't it? Yes, we have moved forward very fast leaving behind many precious and invaluable things. Time changes each moment. We have to accept that factor too, if we have to stay here and move along with it.
Letters and literature
Many writers and poets have agreed that they have improved their writings through letters. Letters have helped their mind to fly through imaginary worlds helping them to search and reach new horizons. Even some letters have turned to greatest assets to literature world, which were written from the sincere bottom of the heart. 'Letters from a father to his daughter' is a collection of 30 letters written by Late Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1928 to his daughter Indira Gandhi. It was a series of letters written by him to his 10 years old daughter when he was in prison. Those letters taught her natural history and the story of civilizations even though she missed his presence. Love letters of Kafka to Milena are treated as classic till now. Same is the case of Khail Jibran's letters to unseen May Ziyade who loved each other for 19 years, only through letters. When lines were poured from heart in loneliness with sincerity, why couldn't they attract millions of loving hearts? In one letter, Kafka says, "If I were the postman who brings this letter to you!". Jibran's letters were as beautiful as a poem and now every reader loves translation of such pieces of literature too.
Letters and romance
No more explanations needed to prove the relation between letters and romance. A letter or poem written with full of spelling mistakes and strike offs and given with a shivering hand and tension filled face was the sign of college romance of 80's and 90's. It was better illustrated in films too. Now, a simple sms is doing that job. So, no need to fear about quick response from the other person. Same is the case of letters exchanged between lovers. Earlier, lovers were so shy that they never express their feelings through words. But they hide and send them through letters. A small gift given along with it, like a flower, a perfume, a sindoor or even a hair can make the receiver pleasant which can never be send or received through e-mails or sms. Messengers of early college days have also disappeared for ever. Now, everyone has a yahoo messenger or google chat with them, through which they send animated emotions in different colours and variety. Not even need to prepare them. Everything is there readymade. Greeting cards are also replaced by e-mail greetings in thousands, with which no one finds any attachment. But, it is an undisputed truth - before mobile phones, romance flowered through letters and friends only.
Letters kept as assets
Till now, many people are there who are keeping old letters in a safe locker as their assets. They may not show those treasures to another person because such letters hold many personal feelings, desires and secrets which no one would love to share. Some people are still there, who often reads such letters and give a deep breath remembering everything. Though, they can’t get anything back, this treasure can really comfort them a lot.
Actually, we are losing loneliness from our life. How can we write if we are not enjoying our solitude. Today, silence means the time when our mobile is quiet. The day till our mobile rings, we are never alone. When everything is getting instantly at our finger tips, we are not aware of the distance between hearts or persons or even the long wait for something. It's true that it's our loneliness or the feeling of missing something which prompt us to write letters. If we are not missing anything in life, will we spare some time for writing something for our dear ones? Let me stop here, asking you a simple question. Can an opened e-mail after years give the same effect of a hand written letter with faded alphabets? Have a thought.
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